24 : Nightfall
by Dan Hardy
Summary: The events of operation nightfall, my ongoing fanfic. New chapters being posted keep checking back!
1. Midnight to 1AM

24: Nightfall The Following takes place between midnight and one o'clock a.m. on the day  
of Operation Nightfall  
  
The on board clock showed that it was just a few seconds past  
midnight, it'll be three o'clock in L.A. now, the pilot thought just  
as a man jumped out of the military plane, he was in all black and  
free fell until the last minute when he released his chute, that man  
was Sergeant Roger Voss, of Delta team Nightfall, he was jumping ahead  
of the rest of the team so that he could secure the extraction point.  
  
Meanwhile at U.S. Airbase Aviano, the rest of the team arrived, they  
filed into the briefing room and were met by the mission leader,  
Captain Jack Bauer, the team at this point had not been given full  
mission details, he introduced the five men in turn. "This is my  
second in command, Dwayne Shelton, Warrant Officer and former Green  
Beret, he's a pro, and I trust him with my life", Dwayne interrupted  
"Yeah, even though I don't trust him with mine" he smiles. Jack  
carries on "Weapons officer for this mission is First Sergeant Brice  
Gardener" gestures to the man he is referring to, the man is stocky  
with black thinning hair and a moustache, the man gives a little nod  
while Jack pauses."Brice has a range of specialities, including  
demolition and hand-to-hand combat and just generally just giving the  
enemy a hard time, especially the Serbs.." Brice shouted out "your not  
gonna tell the armoured car story again", Jack replied by saying "come  
on Brice you like hearing that story as much as I like telling it"..  
Brice shrugs "can't argue with that", Jack went on with what he was  
saying "well in a previous mission, he held off a Serbian Armoured car  
that was heading the search for us, but well we'd used all our charges  
in the mission, so all he had was a automatic weapon and one clip he  
took off a dead Serb, so while he's holding them off, me and the rest  
of the team are making our way to the extraction point as fast as  
possible, hoping that he would make it too, well he did..ten days  
later, dragging three prisoners along with him!", the other four  
looked at him, Brice didn't move and instead just looked at Jack,  
"Jack, your right, I do like hearing that story as much as you like  
telling it"  
  
unknown location  
Craig Johnson, (commanding officer - operation falling hammer)  
alongside Robert Ellis briefed three men, Captain Daniel Lewis (Delta  
Team Leader), Lt. George Emmett and Lt. David Taylor on the Op,  
Johnson looked around the room and begins "the plan is very simple,  
yet needs to be done right for it to be successful, your mission is to  
track Delta team nightfall and report back there progress, that's  
stage one" he waited a second "Stage two, is to capture Drazen and  
make sure that team nightfall blow his compound, now this is where it  
gets a little complex but nothing you can't handle, because their plan  
is to wait until they have confirmation that he is inside, and they  
will give the F-18, codename Hammer One the go, when they do not see  
Drazen in the compound they may abort the mission, you may have to tap  
into there radio frequency and give the call yourself, when Hammer One  
drops it's payload the nightfall team will know something is wrong, so  
then they will have to be taken care of." The three men are taken  
aback by this, Emmett brushes this aside quickly and asks a question  
"Why can't we just let Nightfall do it's job and kill Drazen?",  
Jackson looked at Emmett knowingly, as if he knew what was coming  
"Drazen is more helpful to us alive than dead, but there would be  
public outcry if the U.S. imprisoned him without trial, but if people  
think he's dead, no public outcry, its just a lot simpler, anymore  
questions?.. no, okay, get some rest, your dismissed, Captain Lewis if  
you won't mind waiting." Lewis gave a little nod and retreated back  
into the room while the others poured out.  
  
Lewis walked beside Johnson who was looking down at his watch ,nearly ten past, as a fierce by the book military man he liked to be on schedule, Johnson turned to Lewis to discuss more pressing matters "Captain, is your team up to the job?..Didn't Taylor work with Bauer early in his career"  
Lewis replied "Yes sir, Bauer trained him." Johnson cut in "Well make  
sure it doesn't become a problem, we don't have the time" he put a  
large emphasis on the last word as he glanced down at his watch again.  
Lewis reassured him "it won't be", and then Johnson turned the corner,  
shaking his head at how much time he had wasted.  
  
Robert Ellis was on the phone to Jack,  
Ellis: "How's the mission doing Jack?"  
Jack: "Yeah, fine, just finished the briefing, would have helped if  
you were here Bob, where are you?" Ellis looks uncomfortable, because  
he can't answer jack's question Ellis: "I'll be there soon". Jack looked confused, not understanding why Ellis didn't really answer his question, but Jack decided not to push the issue.  
Jack: "Well be sure that you are". Jack, who looked slightly  
uncomfortable, hung up.  
  
Ellis walked into Johnson's office to tell him about his phone conversation with Jack, "If I'm not there soon, he's gonna ask more questions", Johnson agreed with him "Yeah you better get going," Ellis was halfway out the door when Johnson continued "Just make sure the team have everything they need before you do and keep your cell on, just in case".  
  
It was quarter past three at CTU District headquarters in L.A., Richard Walsh was in his office, he still had a couple of hours of work until the day the day was finished, even then he knew he could be called upon at any time, what I'd give for a normal job, he thought about that for a second, a normal job?! That would be good, he would have continued with this thought but his assistant came over the intercom in a panicked voice, "there is a  
call for you, sir.. but the caller wouldn't give his name," there was  
a long pause while she tried to regain her composure "he just said  
that he has been watching us.. and that he knows what we do!?!.., sir  
do you want to take the call??", "It sounds serious, I'd better take  
it" in a slightly mock serious tone. "Sir?" says his assistant, not  
quite sure why he wasn't taking it in his usual serious way. "Just put  
me though Sarah" He picked up the phone and stopped trying to put on a  
serious tone and laughed down the phone "You've got to stop scaring my  
assistant like that Jack" Jack on the other end laughed out loud and  
said "sorry", Walsh asked "what do you want Jack, aren't you getting  
ready for a mission?". Jack said "I need a favour Richard", Walsh said  
"Anything", Jack explained "I don't know where Robert Ellis, the man  
who is collected the intelligence for the op, I don't know where he  
is, he won't tell me, he should be her helping prepare for the  
mission", Walsh is surprised by this, "I know how hard Ellis worked on  
getting this mission off the ground". Jack went on "I don't have a  
good felling about this". Walsh tells Jack "it wouldn't be easy but  
I'll will try to find out what I can, is there anything else I can do  
for you Jack?". Jack asked "Can you check up on Teri, it's hard on  
her, me going away with no proper explanation". Walsh says "sure" in a  
very reassuring voice and put the phone down.  
  
Ellis was checking up on the final arrangements before he went to  
Aviano, Taylor was going through the files of the Nightfall team, he  
got a shock when he saw Jack's photo and file, he glanced at Ellis in  
disbelief, not only because he knew Jack, but because he knew of  
Ellis's close friendship with Jack. He doesn't understand why Ellis  
would organise a mission where Jack would be Killed. Taylor approached  
Ellis and asked Taylor: "don't you know Jack Bauer quite well?",  
Ellis: "Yes, I do, but in this line of work you have to leave  
friendship at the door", Taylor was frustrated at getting this kind of  
reply.  
Taylor: "Still, ambushing another Delta team's mission and killing  
them is a bit extreme, why can't we just take Drazen, fake his death,  
and then make the Nightfall team swear to keep the secret?". Ellis  
determined not to get drawn into a discussion about it.  
Ellis: "More risk of it getting out" he said this is a very abrupt  
voice, obviously hoping to end the conversation, and then went back to  
what he was doing. Taylor doesn't give up,  
Taylor: "Are you telling me that you want this to happen? For six  
highly trained Delta team personnel to die, with no explanation to  
there families?" he pauses to let his words sink in "Jack is a friend  
to you and me, and all six are Americans, just average Americans, just  
like you or me" it's was clear that Taylor has had a effect on Ellis,  
and he was clearly uncomfortable. Ellis looked at Taylor, he looked  
hurt, the expression on his face gave away his feelings, he was  
intense with thought, he opened his mouth, to let Taylor know what he  
was thinking "I." but just then Captain Lewis came in, and Ellis's  
expression quickly changed "can't discuss this now, I've got to go",  
his face showed no effect of Taylor's words, but instead it was stern,  
like a commander to a subordinate, without another word to Taylor he  
walked out saying to Lewis that he is going to Aviano and to call him  
if he needed anything.  
  
"It's nearly half three which can only mean one thing" "Yeah, it's time for another rubbish children's show" Johnny Townsend cut in on the TV announcer, Townsend was a Agent at the L.A. Counter Terrorist Unit, with a flair for computer hacking, but he was under investigation, he hacked into the Pentagon computer, and he would readily admit his guilt but would insist it was for a good reason. Because he was being investigated there was nothing he could do but watch "rubbish children's shows" and this was just what he was doing when the phone rang, it was Director Walsh, "Johnny I need a favour, I need you to hack into Delta Files to see what Delta missions go out today".  
Townsend: "Why come to me? when you have a office full of people  
capable of doing this, and besides I'm under investigation remember, I  
don't have a hope in hell of getting near a terminal with the  
necessary access".  
Walsh: "I need this below the radar and I know you set up a illegal  
connection to the CTU server at your apartment"  
Townsend: "You know I could go to Chappelle with what you've just  
asked me to do, and cut a deal, your a much bigger catch than I am"  
Walsh replied in kind.  
Walsh: "Yeah your right Chappelle would love to nail me, but it would  
be your word against mine, and you'd never see daylight again if  
Chappelle knew what I did about you" Townsend looked a little  
flustered  
Townsend: "I get the picture, all right, I'll do it, but it might take  
some time".  
Walsh: "Just do what you can". Walsh finished the call and then left  
his office.  
  
At Aviano, The Nightfall team go over each stage of the mission , they  
discuss the best way to insert themselves in Kosovo, Warrant Officer  
Shelton suggested a jump "It's the best way to get us close enough",  
but Master Sergeant Fred Peltzer (The missions intelligence  
specialist) looks up from a intelligence file and said "that is not  
really a option, Drazen just got a new toy" he presses a button and a  
map of the Drazen compound comes up on the screen on the wall at the  
end of the table where they are all seated at, Peltzer continued "from  
somewhere, probably a token of Milosovic's gratitude, but he's got a  
portable radar system set-up on the outskirts of his compound, they  
would know where we were before we did", Shelton gave out a sigh, he  
was about to make another suggestion when Peltzer cut him off "Oh yeah  
and because our mission like most other Delta missions, it is  
technically illegal, so we have the make damn sure that NATO radar  
doesn't see us and.." This time Shelton cut in "Fred, we get it, a  
jump isn't an option" Jack came in with the suggestion of a HALO jump  
(High Altitude Low Opening) saying "the radar wouldn't pick up a high  
flying plane or a parachute opening at low altitude". They all agreed,  
and then go on to talk about the extraction point.  
  
Robert Ellis was in his car driving to Aviano still clearly thinking  
about Taylor's words earlier and was considering what to do next,  
after a while of intense consideration Ellis called Taylor's cell, but  
it was turned off, the voice mail message came on, "The network  
subscriber you are trying to reach is currently unavailable, please  
leave a message after the beep, press one to re-record or delete your  
message at any time", Ellis started his message "David this is Robert,  
your right, we have to do something about the mission," he paused  
"convince Johnson to change the mission objectives" he paused again  
and pulled over to the side of the road so that he could think. He  
looked around, sighed deeply, and pressed one on his phone and left  
another message, not letting his true feelings known.  
  
Richard Walsh in his car pulled up outside the Bauer Residence, he got out of his car  
and went inside, he said "hello Teri, how are you", she greeted him  
"good to see you Richard, what can I do for you?", he explained "Jack  
asked me to look in on you to make sure that you where okay", she  
asked "how long will Jack be on this CTU training exercise?", Walsh  
showed signs of surprise, Jack said he hadn't given a proper  
explanation, I didn't think he would give a straight out lie, but only  
for a split second after which he covered his surprise well. He  
answered her question "depends how it goes but it shouldn't be more  
than another two days". Teri made an effort to look pleased at this  
piece of news, but it was clear she hoped it would be sooner. There  
was a slightly awkward silence, which Walsh broke by asking about Kim,  
Teri looked down, she sighed "Kim's a bit like me, she doesn't  
understand why Jack is away so much, only. more so". Walsh reassured  
Teri "Well tell her, Jack will be home soon", Teri appreciated this  
"thank you Richard", Walsh said "And if you need anything, just call",  
he walked out the door which Teri shut behind him.  
  
Walsh walked to his car, his phone rang, he picked it up, it was  
Townsend, "hi, Richard, it's Jon, I'm in!" the last statement which  
was given with a large amount of glee surprised Walsh it had only been  
twenty minutes since call Townsend, "there are two missions going out  
today, the first is Operation Nightfall" Townsend briefly described  
the mission objectives and Walsh recognised it as Jack's mission.  
Walsh asked what the second was "The second is Op..." there was a  
large resounding crackle as the phone went dead. Richard looked at the  
as phone which boldly displayed the numbers 3:59, it was nearly almost  
four, but it was clear that he hope to be home early was quickly  
fading. 


	2. 1AM to 2AM

The Following takes place between one a.m. and two a.m. on the day of  
operation nightfall  
  
01:00 16:00  
  
At Townsend's house he shouts down the phone and then realizes that he is in danger, he takes a CD from his computer with everything that he found in the Delta system then and presses 'esc' on his keyboard, after which changes the screen from the CTU generic to a standard home desktop. He opens a draw to the side of his desk and grabs his gun, he hears shots fires and dives for cover and then with a sharp "CLICK" loads his gun, he peers round from the filing cabinet he is hiding behind, then runs out the back door.  
  
Walsh still outside the Bauer house looks worried if Townsend's hacking of the Delta system was detected!, he got in his car, a navy blue Taurus, and puts his foot down. Teri who was watching Walsh from a window looked worried as she thought was that call something to do with jack?.  
  
01:01 16:01  
  
Townsend circled around his apartment, carefully and quietly to find a better vantage point, when he did he sees that there, two men ransacking his apartment, obviously looking for something. He moves back round the front of the house, closing in on a fuse box attached to the outside of a wall.  
  
01:04 16:04  
  
At Aviano, Jack got a call, looking at the face of his cell which displayed the time 01:04 and the caller Richard Walsh, jack pressed a central button on his phone to pick it up. Walsh: Jack, thank god. Panic clear in his voice. Jack: Richard??, what's wrong?, have you found anything out? Walsh: Something, not a lot. Jack: What? Walsh: There are two missions going out tonight, one is nightfall Jack: And the other? Walsh: I didn't find out, I had Townsend from my office hacking the delta system, I was talking to him just a few minutes ago, but then he got cut off before he could tell me about the other mission. Jack: What, so you think he was detected? Walsh: Exactly, I'm on my way to his place now. Jack: Good luck, get back to me, bye. Walsh: Bye Jack.  
  
01:05  
  
Ellis gets a call from Johnson Ellis: What's wrong? Johnson: Taylor, that's what's wrong! Ellis: Why Johnson: He ain't got no balls, and he's a liability Ellis: Well you'll have to live with him, we don't have time to pull him from the mission and find a replacement. Johnson: I'll replace him...  
  
Taylor gets Ellis's rather puzzling phone message and tries to contact him but he is still on the phone to Johnson.  
  
Johnson (continued): I know the mission plan, so there will be no effect on the mission. Ellis: I'll leave it up to you, just make sure that the mission runs smoothly. Johnson: I will, and I'll take care of Taylor. Ellis: What do you mea....Johnson cuts him off before he can finish.  
  
01:08 16:08  
  
Walsh on-route to Townsend's apartment calls his mobile to see if he is all right, but he doesn't get through. Walsh: Damnit!  
  
At Townsend's apartment the two men are taken off guard when suddenly the lights go out, before they can react the first of the two goes down with a double tap to the head, the second dives for cover behind a row of kitchen cupboards.  
  
01:10  
  
At Aviano, Jack goes into the coffee room where many of the team members are catching up, most of them are old friends who haven't seen each other for a while. The mood is calm as they joke about how Gary (Graham, First Sergeant and Medical Officer) can't hack it anymore (Nightfall is his last mission), Shelton continues the joking by saying that he is going soft in his old age, Peltzer seeing Jack come in says "Sorry Gary but come on your ancient, I mean you trained the same time Jack did", they all look at Jack who looks jokingly hurt "I could have you done for insubordination for that comment Sergeant Peltzer...". They all laugh including, then Jack continues "...Just joking, but you might want to know that you were not my first choice for this mission", Peltzer gives Jack a mock hurt look and asks "so who was your first choice?", he tells them that "David Taylor" was, but he was already assigned to a mission. Gary Graham says "Hey!, I remember him, how's he doing now?"  
  
Taylor gets a call from Ellis, Ellis: Your in trouble, Johnson wants you off the mission. Taylor looks down the hall and sees Johnson coming towards him. Taylor: Speak of the Devil, Thanks Robert, I've got to go"  
  
01:15 16:15  
  
Townsend moves to get a view of the second man, but behind the kitchen counter sees he unknown man sees Townsend's reflection in some hanging pans. The man comes up from cover and shots at Townsend who ducks out the way, but two late, the bullet clips his shoulder, he knows that he must keep moving, circles the room and fires at the second man, hitting but not before he gets another hit, in a similar place to the last, knocking Townsend back, Townsend gets another two shots off, first shot misses, second hits. The Shot knocks the man down, his gun skids across the floor. He picks it up, he is about to take aim again but Townsend does the first and shouts "freeze", the man slowly starts to move again, Townsend shouts again, louder "Don't Move, I'll Shoot", the man taunts him "Go on then shoot me, I dare you", Townsend gives in and pulls the trigger, but a large CLICK reveals his gun is empty. The man takes aim and shoots him in his other shoulder, dropping him to the floor, the man stands over him, and points his gun straight at his head.  
  
01:23 16:23  
  
The man says "Did you make a copy of the Delta mission List?", "Go to Hell" is Townsend's reply, "Don't waste my time, because that would really piss me off, and when something really pisses me off, well I'm liable to blow someone's head off, so I ask you again, did you make a copy?" Just then a car pulls up outside, a blue Taurus, the man crouches down and continues in a very soft voice (trying not to be heard) "I'm running out of time, so I'm gonna count to three and at three I'm afraid it's lights out, .... so ..... 1, ..2 "just as he says 3, Townsend shouts with all the breath he has left "OKAY, OKAY", he is out of breathe but he continues "in... in my..... pocket" "Thank You" the man replies as he goes into Townsend's pocket and grabs the CD with the Delta info and dashes into the apartment's garage via a side door, he does this just as Walsh bursts in. Walsh shoots as him but misses, he goes over to Townsend, Townsend: Sir, I'm fine, He's got the only copy of the delta mission data. Walsh, knowing and regretting what he must do is spurred into action when there's the roar of a engine as Townsend's car fly's out of the garage with the unknown man at the wheel. Walsh quickly runs to his own car in pursuit.  
  
01:30  
  
At Aviano, Jack Bauer calls the team to attention, for the final mission briefing, he says "Right, we are to board the plane in half an hour, it will take approximately 1 hour and twenty minutes to get to our destination."....  
  
01:35 16:35  
  
Both cars are now on a main freeway and are weaving in and out of the traffic, as Walsh makes a call to the CTU L.A. Office and asks them Walsh: Send paramedics to Agent Townsend's apartment Other line: Is there anything else sir? Walsh: Yes there is....  
  
....The unknown man gets a call, he picks up and the caller asks Caller: "do you have it?" (in Russian), the man replies in Russian as well,  
  
Unknown Man: "I do but, I've got a tail", Caller: Where are you?....  
  
....back in Walsh's car he is still on the phone and he asks Walsh: are they in place?" Other line: Yes Walsh: Good, he ends to call and mumbles to himself "now we got him"  
  
01:42 16:42  
  
The unknown man is now off the phone, he is still weaving through traffic when he sees a road block up ahead, He looks into his rear view mirror, he sees not only Walsh following him, but two cop cars as well. He says "if that's the way to wanna play it" in a low voice and then makes a sharp turn and off the freeway.  
  
The police and Walsh are momentarily caught off guard by his sudden change of direction, giving him chance to escape the every growing net of police road blocks.  
  
The man similes at his maneuver, but he soon realises that he isn't out of trouble when he hears a helicopter in the air above him.  
  
From the view of the chopper we can see him make a few more direction changes. The chopper pilot tells the fleet of police cars he is heading for the bridge over the freeway.  
  
01:50  
  
Aviano, Jack: I think that just about covers it, so go get changed and meet at transport in ten minutes...  
  
01:53 16:53  
  
The man takes another corner, but he is blocked by police cars so he continues onto the bridge where he is met 10 police cars blocking all of the bridge, he goes to reverse but is met with the same on the other side. He stops the car and gets out, with a gun in his hand, seeing this, the police raise there's, the police chief shouts through a megaphone at him to lower his weapon, raise his hands, and step away from the car. He complies with all three and then continues stepping back, to the edge of the bridge. The police chief tells him to stop moving and that a officer will approach to handcuff him, The man shouts "SO YOU WANT ME ALIVE!?" he moves onto the ledge of the bridge and is seen to be fingering something in his hand. He shouts out "WELL THAT'S A SHAME", and then jumps backwards of the bridge and can be seen to be putting something into his mouth...  
  
01:59  
  
Back at Aviano, the Nightfall Delta team board an Air Force Special Operations MC-130 Combat Talon, prepared for their mission.... 


	3. 2AM to 3AM

The Following takes place between two a.m. and three a.m. on the day of operation nightfall

02:00 (Italian time)16:00 (LA Local Time)

In downtown L.A. a man of Russian origin bangs on the door of a small apartment, he shouts something in Russian, he is frustrated at the lack of response, so shouts again, but louder, drawing the attention of a few people further down the corridor of the apartment block, he pays no attention to the quizzical looks coming his way as the door slowly opens, just enough for him to slip inside, before the door shuts again with a large thud.

Inside the apartment it is dark and dreary and is occupied by several people, but the unknown man only has one thing on his mind, his superiors wanted this information hours ago. He took out a CD from his pocket and inserted it into a computer which stood on a small desk in the corner of the room. He double clicked on an icon, and the computer sprang to life revealing the contents of the disc….delta mission files…., after reviewing the information he picked up a phone at the side of the computer and dialed a number, he held the phone to the side of his face and spoke, "I Have it"……"yes, but.."….."well there are no mission objectives logged…"…., have received orders he put down the phone and punched several keys on the keyboard of the computer, finally to a query from the computer which read "Send?", he jabbed at 'enter' with his right thumb.

02:0516:05

"So he was dead on impact?" asked Richard Walsh who was baffled by the mysterious mans actions, "Oddly, no" was the reply he received from an LA CSI, which confused matters further. "Your joking me!, because anyone could survive that fall" interrupted an L.A. police chief eager to understand the situation as he looked up at the bridge above them, the CSI tried the bring the conversation back to the facts, "Your right, the fall would have killed him, but something else did instead",

"What killed him instead?" Walsh asked growing more confused by the second.

"Well, to be honest I'm actually just speculating, but cyanide, if you look carefully you can see the remainder of the tablet in this throat." The CSI answered, finally giving Walsh some answers, "That's probably what you saw in his hand before he jumped. Of course I won't know for sure until I get a sample of his blood to the lab" the CSI continued. Walsh was understanding events more clearly now, but the Police Chief was still have trouble

"So why bother jumping off the bridge?, I mean if he wants to commit suicide, why not just try and take his pill?", Walsh didn't really have time for these questions but he answered it anyway,

"Well, if any of your guys were quick enough, they would have shot him in the arm, stopping him from taking the tablet, but it wouldn't have been fatal, and I'm just guessing, but I think it's gonna make ID-ing him a lot harder", Walsh looked at the CSI for agreement, which he got with the nod of his head. Walsh, having answered the Police Chief's question, he started to walk off, with one last request to the CSI, "soon as you do get a ID, you give me a call", he didn't get very far before he had to turn around to deal with the Police Chief's protests,

"Hey, any info you want, it goes through me", he was really getting sick of this guy wasting his time, but he knew the only the way was to be nice,

"I don't want to step on any toes, but this guy assaulted one of my agents in his own home.", that wasn't quite good enough for the Police Chief,

"That still doesn't give you jurisdiction!", his patience about to snap, Walsh got out a pen, wrote down a number on a piece of paper and handed it to the Police Chief,

"Here, this is Ryan Sealey's number, our liaison to the police department, Call him he will verify my jurisdiction", the Police Chief gave in,

"Okay, fine but this is a two way street, if we co-operate with you, you've got to do the same", Walsh was more than happy to agree to the request

"You'll get full co-operation"

02:10(18:10 DC Local)

The Palmer residence, Washington D.C., David and Sherry are in the study, talking openly about a problem which has arisen in the commerce subcommittee.

"Sherry, I just don't know what to do, Horwell's blocking it just because Buckingham is supporting it.." He let out a large sigh which betrayed his feelings on the matter. The phone rang, David picked it up, "Palmer Residence"….."Oh Hi Miles, What can I can for you?", he warmly asked his aide at the Special Operations Appropriations Committee,

"Sir, you asked to be informed when Nightfall launched", Said the Aide at the other end

"Yes I did, Thank you, keep me informed", David put down the phone and turned back to Sherry who clearly had questions about the conversation,

"What did Miles want?", Sherry asked in a slightly probing tone which most people might find annoying, but which David had grown accustomed,

"Oh nothing, just some other committee business" was David's reply, he was good at keeping Sherry of the business which didn't concern her with making it sound rude, one of the keys was turning the subject back to business with which she could help him with, "So any suggestions about how I'm gonna handle Horwell and Buckingham?", Sherry looked at David and paused before replying. "The way I see it David, Horwell while blocking it now, wouldn't want to be seen as the reason it didn't get through. You make sure he knows he's the only one blocking it, give him a reasonable chance to reverse his position, and he will".

02:1504:15 (Russian Time)

In Southern Russia, Somewhere (City), three Russian men sat round a table, talking in Russian. A Woman came in and gave an elderly man at the head of the table a few sheets of paper. The talking stopped as the elderly man reviewed the information and the woman left. The man at the Head of the table was Dimitri Goetz, one of the leaders of the Russian Dissident group SG, the other two men around the table are also leaders of the group. They are Michele Alcona and Davidoff Monett former members of Russian Intelligence and Cold War veterans.

"The mission has already launched, we do not have time" Goetz announced, Alcona was displeased with this assessment "there must be someone already out in the field, someone on a less important mission…."

"There is no one Michele, except…" Monett cut in, looking at Goetz as he did so "…you have someone in that area don't you Dimtri, on another mission?!", Goetz looked disturbed at what has been suggested "Yes, but she is too valuable an agent, and she is about to go on a very important mission, No she can not be used, there must be someone else" He said in a commanded voice, very much hoping to put an end to the thought. Michele looked at Goetz "There is no one else Dimtri, she is the only one in the area, and however important her mission, Drazen must be our priority, our entire future strategy involves him". Goetz looked resigned to the decision but argues anyway "Yes, but a lot of money has gone into her mission", undeterred Alcona argued back "I understand that Dimitri, but if the mission is successful, and we have no reason to think that it won't be, it will be over today, and then she can take up her mission". Goetz agreed, "Very well, but if she is late for her next assignment, I will hold you personally responsible". Alcona did look scared at this threat, the powerful man he was, his personal power didn't come close to that of Goetz.

02:25

George Mason arrived at the bridge where investigations into the identification of the unknown man continued.

"What on earth?" was Mason's curious reaction to seeing the body and the bloody tarmac which surrounded it.

Richard rolled his eyes, he had asked for George to come down and help him, but know that he was here, he started to regret the decision, he didn't really have time for any of his smart lines today.

"So Richard, what happened?, why should we care? And why did you call me in on my day off?", the Barrage of questions came at Walsh at lighting speed, he dealt with them one by one,

"Firstly to you I'm Sir not Richard, what happened here?, well this unknown man committed suicide and jumped off this bridge, we care because he broke into Agent Townsend's house took a Disc containing top secret government files at put Townsend in the hospital in the process, I called you in on your day off because I need some help to retrieve the disc, he doesn't have it on him any more, which leads me to believe he made a switch somewhere along the line, which would be greatly helped if you would put a lid on that sense of humour of yours", Mason was quite taken aback by Richard's snap response. He quickly got the message and asked a slightly more sensible question,

"So how do you plan on us getting that disc back?, Sir" he added a slightly mock tone when he said the last word, to see just how far he could push, Walsh ignored it and help up a clear plastic bag inside which was a set of keys,

"the Crime Scene guys found his keys, the trusting idiot had his address engraved on them in case they were lost, we'll start there"

02:30

SG Safe house, Kosovo, a woman of medium build is on the phone, she is the one to carry out the mission, "I understand" and puts the phone down.

02:40

Walsh and Mason on there way to the address in downtown LA, Mason is still trying to get Walsh in a better mood with some irrelevant conversation

…"so how would you want do die then?", Walsh couldn't quite believe his ears, he was definitely regretting his decision to ask Mason to help him retrieve the disc. But in the interests of getting along, he went along with it,

"I'm not sure, you?", Mason was disappointed at Walsh's non-answer, but was happy that Walsh was at least participating in the conversation,

"Me, I always thought I'd go out with a bang, some fireworks, I want people to really know I'm gone", Mason's answer was just what Walsh had expected

"Modest aren't you, you probably expect it to be the end of the world or something don't you?", Walsh was spot on,

"To right, the ground will probably shake, some come on what about you?", Walsh was starting to lighten up and had been thinking about it, so he answered,

"I always imagined that the job would be the death of me, chasing Top Secret information on CD's, Key Cards and god knows what else"

02:45

The unidentified SG agent is stood in full Russian infantry uniform in the middle of a forest, she scans through radio chatter while looking at a map of the area, obviously having found what she was looking for marked a location on the map.

02:50

Still on there way to the Downtown address, Walsh pulled up at a Drive through, he was starving and needed some food if he was going to make in through the long hours likely to be needed to retrieve the disc, "You want a Coffee?" he asked Mason,

"I was hoping for a three course meal", Mason cheekily remarked hoping to get a laugh from Walsh, Richard gave a wry smile as he replied,

"I might be able to stretch to a bagel", clearly starting to relax.

Onboard the Delta transport, the Nightfall Team were playing cards, there was a roar of laughter as Jack proudly announced "three of a kind" to wipe a smile of the face of Lilljec who was ready to declare himself the winner of a large stack of coins which stood in the middle of the table.

02:59

Roger Voss, of the Delta team was making final preparations at the extraction point, suddenly his body went stiff, and slowly his body slumped to floor revealing a small bullet entry wound, behind him a figure stalked just out of sight then it started moving forward out from the trees, it was a woman, the SG agent, she had a medium build, dark hair which was cut just above her shoulders, piercing blue eyes and she went by the name Yelena.


End file.
